‘Please slow down,’ Santa Clarita Valley family pleas after car smashes into horseback riders
A Santa Clarita Valley family is speaking out after a speeding driver crashed into them and their band of horses, hospitalizing one woman, injuring a girl and killing two of the animals.
The crash at about 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of Iron Canyon and Sand Canyon roads occurred after Marcela De Vivo says she tried to slow down a speeding Nissan sedan as her 14-year-old daughter, her daughter’s friends and six horses attempted to cross Iron Canyon Road.
“The last two horses were older and slow, so they were still on the road,” she told KTLA’s Kimberly Cheng. “I noticed the car was accelerating, going faster and faster. I started screaming, ‘Hurry, get out of the road.’ … I stayed in the middle waving at the guy, like ‘slow down, slow down,’ but he never did slow down.”
2 horses killed in violent collision in Santa Clarita Valley
The vehicle crashed into De Vivo, her daughter Isabelle Andrew and the horses they were riding.
De Vivo’s knee was broken, and Isabelle was injured, though she did not require hospitalization. Additionally, De Vivo’s horse Norma Jean died immediately, while Isabelle’s horse, named Husband, was later euthanized due to broken front legs.
“It feels like I lost a family member,” Isabelle said.
The driver of the Nissan remained at the scene, and though De Vivo claims he was speeding, the investigation into the cause of the crash remains ongoing.
The family said GPS systems navigate drivers into their area to avoid traffic, and these drivers need to be more aware of where they’re traveling.
“It’s a highly equestrian community, signs all over, horses every day,” said Owen Andrew, De Vivo’s husband. “Please slow down.”
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